Aussie, Kiwi and South Pacific Atheists

Breaking News! After successfully challenging the Commonwealth government in the High Court of Australia over funding for the National School Chaplaincy Scheme, Ron Williams is to take them on again. In an attempt to circumvent the High Court ruling, the government has passed some extremely questionable legislation which tears at the heart of parliamentary democracy and public accountability. Williams has consulted with his crack legal team and the decision has been made today (Saturday, 7 July) to mount another challenge.

Mounting a High Court challenge is extremely expensive and Ron Williams is just an average, suburban Dad. If all of us who care about a secular, democratic Australia can chip in as much as we can, it will help enormously. Please consider donating at:

This is your chance to be a part of making Australian Constitutional history!

Embiggen Books - Your Australian Atheist/Skeptical Bookshop

Embiggen Books, an Australian bookstore devoted to promoting science, philosophy, rationalism and skepticism is now on Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne. Warren Bonett and Kirsty Bruce of Embiggen are also passionate and active members of the atheist and skeptical communities.

Australian Atheist Issues

For new members, if you want to get a grasp of some of the issues effecting atheists in Australia, you might like to take a look at the Atheist Nexus (Australia) submission on "Freedom of Religion and Belief in the 21st Century" made to the Australian Human Rights Commission early last year. It's long, but easy reading, and worth spending some time on. A report, using information compiled from submissions, should be released later this year.

Atheist Meetup Groups - Australia

If you'd like to meet up with some local atheists, there's no better way than joining your local Atheist Meetup, Skeptics, or Freethought Groups:

A good chance to discuss secularism in schools and government in Australia - plus discuss issues facing ex-Muslims in Australia and overseas - apostasy laws and the freethinking movement in Muslim majority countries.

Julia Gillard announces a royal commission into child sex abuse in Canberra. Picture: Ray Strange Source: The Australian JULIA Gillard has agreed to a royal commission into institutional responses to allegations of child sex abuse in Australia.
The Prime Minister said the terms of reference for the royal commission would be worked on in coming weeks, before the persons to lead the inquiry were appointed.
“I want to get this right,” Ms Gillard said in Canberra.
“So, over the next few weeks, we will be consulting with the organisations that represent the survivors of child abuse, with religious organisations, with state and territory governments, to ensure the terms of reference are right.”
The inquiry will not be confined to the Catholic Church, but extend to all religious organisations and to children in state care, and into other institutions including schools.
Mr Gillard said she had already spoken to the premiers of NSW and Victoria, states which are already pursuing their own inquiries.
“Both of them are prepared to take a cooperative approach,” she said.
Mr Gillard said any instance of child abuse was a vile and evil thing.
“Australians know, from the revelations that they've read in recent weeks that too many children have suffered child abuse but have also seen other adults let them down.
“They've not only had their trust betrayed by the abuser but other adults who could have acted to assist them have failed to do so.”
Australians wanted action taken, she said, and did not want to see institutions fail again to deal with allegations of abuse.
“I hope that this royal commission can guide us to that place,” Ms Gillard said.
The Prime Minister acknowledged it was an “incredibly complex and sensitive area”.
“Some people may want there to be the maximum public airing of what happened to them - that might be biggest healing that they could have.
“For others, I imagine that standing somewhere public and telling their story would be their version of hell.
“This will have to be dealt with sensitively and be a job for the commission to work through.”
Ms Gillard gave no timeframe for the inquiry but said it would take some time.
“It should take the time necessary,” she said.
Ms Gillard also said she had spoken to the Catholic Church's senior cleric in Australia, Sydney Archbishop, Cardinal George Pell.
“This is a royal commission that would be looking across religious organisations, as well as state-based care and into the not-for-profit sector,” she said.
“So this is not a royal commission targeted at any one church.”
But Ms Gillard said her discussion with Cardinal Pell “indicated that he's taking a very co-operative attitude”.
The announcement came after Labor backbenchers joined independent MPs and the Greens in calling for a royal commission, and after Finance Minister Penny Wong said the situation called for a “full, frank and fearless” inquiry.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said earlier today he'd support a “wide-ranging” commission that didn't focus solely on the Catholic Church.
“Any investigation should not be limited to the examination of any one institution,” Mr Abbott, a high-profile Catholic, said in a statement.
“It must include all organisations, government and non-government, where there is evidence of sexual abuse.”
Cardinal Pell had said he believed his church was being unfairly targeted due to “anti-Catholic prejudice”.
But Labor backbencher Doug Cameron said earlier today the church should be the focus of any commission because “that's where the major problem seems to be”.
If the extremely powerful and politically influential church was confident abuse was no longer occurring, it had nothing to fear from a royal commission.

I have a friend who has an extra ticket - but I can't afford to buy it all - so I've asked if I can buy a bit of it - and come for 1 session - either Friday night / Saturday day / Saturday gala dinner / Sunday day.

Tickets are about $600 - so it breaks down to average $150 per session - although it's not that because we've worked it out on cost per hour.

So if anyone want's to share a ticket - let me know - I might be able to point you in the right direction!

Hi Mantiki, and welcome. I'm afraid we've rather 'abandoned ship' here, although anyone wanting to take on the reins and reinvigorate this forum is welcome to contact me. In the meantime - while not suggesting for a moment that you shouldn't stay to enjoy the other forums on Atheist Nexus - I suggest you join the action on Facebook where most of the Australian atheist networking now happens. Send me a friend request (and a message that it's the Atheist Nexus person from Gladstone) and I'll add you. That will put you in touch with a whole range of Aussie atheists and groups. You can find me here.

If you're not on Facebook and don't want to join, try the forum at the Atheist Foundation of Australia.

Hello everybody. I'm from the Gladstone region, Queensland, Australia. I'm interested in religious apologetics. I've only become aware of the atheist movement quite recently through reading about the atheist billboards making the news in the U.S. It's old news I know but I don't watch TV or read newspapers...